A Year Later: Reflecting on the May 2018 Connecticut Tornadoes

5/29/2019 (Permalink)

The damage caused by the May 2018 tornado that hit the Oxford area was widespread.

It’s been a year since four tornadoes swept through the Connecticut region in one day.

Most of us were taken by surprise. As the person who writes the blog posts for SERVPRO of Southbury/Torrington, I don’t write often about tornadoes since they are, generally speaking, a rare event in Connecticut. In fact, from 1953 to 1991, Connecticut recorded an average of 1.3 tornadoes per year, ranked 43rd in the United States. And typically, that tornado per year is weak enough to be rated an EF-0. However, 2018, which had nine total tornadoes confirmed in CT, the most in recorded history, reminded us of how vulnerable we are to nature.

When the tornadoes, as well as several microbursts, touched down in Southbury and Oxford last May, our office received hundreds of calls from home and business owners who needed help. The first few days after the storm were spent prioritizing the calls and making sure help was sent where it was most needed first. Homes that had trees through the roof, broken windows and other structural damage were a priority. We sent crews out to remove trees as well as tarp and board up holes in roofs and walls. With many roads closed for days after the storm, our team navigated the mess to reach homeowners and make their homes safe. Power was also out for many days in some areas, requiring us to bring emergency generators to job sites with no power.

Once all of our customers were safe and their homes secured, we were able to begin the water and mold damage restoration process.

With such extensive and widespread damage, the work was ongoing for months after the tornadoes. Many homeowners had to move out of their houses due to the damage and we understood the hardship that they were going through. Nobody plans to spend a summer at a hotel or in a rental apartment because their house has been hit by a tornado.  We are grateful that our customers handled the difficult situation with the best attitude possible while we worked to get them back in their homes.

We’d like to thank our crew for working ‘round the clock without complaint and our office staff for handling the non-stop phone calls with patience and in an organized manner. It was a demanding few months for you all and you showed us how dedicated you are to your jobs and our company.

We don’t know if we will see another day like May 15, 2018 in Connecticut but if we do, we are confident that our team will once again rise to the challenge and see it through.